


A Dying Innocence

by protectoroffaeries



Category: Skulduggery Pleasant - Fandom
Genre: Harry Potter AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 22:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6302581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectoroffaeries/pseuds/protectoroffaeries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During fifth year, Larrikin comes across something sinister in the Forbidden Forest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Dying Innocence

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is related to a larger Harry Potter AU that I hope to write more on later. I feel obligated to tell make it clear that I don't own Skulduggery Pleasant or Harry Potter. 
> 
> Warnings for death, attempted murder, and I don't know, littering. 
> 
> If you see any mistakes, feel free to drop me a line, and I'll clean them up. 
> 
> The Dead Men's Houses:
> 
> Larrikin and Ghastly - Hufflepuff  
> Dexter, Saracen, and Ravel - Gryffindor  
> Skuduggery and Shudder - Slytherin  
> Hopeless - Ravenclaw

Some people were afraid of the Forbidden Forest. Fear wasn’t unwarranted, necessarily – it was called the Forbidden Forest for a reason – but Larrikin did think that his peers should consider that it wasn’t all bad and dark and dangerous. Sure, the teachers painted it that way, but he would’ve expected more students to ignore such propaganda, especially as they got older.

Alas, Larrikin was one of the only ones that still ventured in. Skulduggery and Ghastly had both sworn it off after the Acromantula Incident of First Year, and Anton had pretty much stopped following him when he realized that most of the creatures in the forest liked Larrikin too much to kill him. Dexter and Saracen would come along sometimes, but only if Larrikin cajoled them into it. Erskine was too busy with his weird girlfriend. Hopeless was a rule-follower to end all rule-followers and often pretended he didn’t even know where the Forbidden Forest was. 

It was a little annoying because Larrikin wanted to share the wonders of the forest with someone. But then, at least he had Noctua. She always went with him in to the forest, even if he went when she was supposed to be sleeping. She was furious the one time he tried to go without her, although how she knew his plans he’d never know.

Noctua was an elf owl, even though many people had pointed out that it would make more sense on a little owl. Larrikin didn’t particularly care what other people thought made sense, and Noctua had never objected to her misnomer. And if Noctua didn’t like something, she was quick to let everyone know. It was actually one of her better traits, for she always told him when she didn’t like a certain area or creature. She’d saved his ass more than once. Noctua was, Larrikin concluded, probably the best companion he could hope for, but he still wished for someone more, well, human. (Noctua wouldn’t be offend if he mentioned it her; sometimes she preferred the company of other owls.)

“Do the other owls ever wish you’d fly away with them?” Larrikin asked. Noctua gave a little hoot. Larrikin figured that was a ‘no’ as her presence would probably be distracting to the postal owls.

“Where to you want to go today, hmm?” Noctua gave him a much clearer answer on that one. She took off from where she was perched on his shoulder and flew east. Larrikin thought he lost her amongst the trees for a moment, but she hooted and got his attention.

He followed her as she flitted from tree to tree. Sometimes he chose his own path, but today he had a feeling that she had something interesting to show him. And in the end, she didn’t disappoint. 

Noctua led him to a clearing, and then she returned to her spot on his shoulder. “Why are we–?” Larrikin began to ask, but then he saw something at the edge of the clearing. 

It looked like a foal, except Larrikin had never seen a foal with a golden coat. Probably because he’d only seen horse foals and never unicorns. Larrikin slowly walked across the clearing, trying not to scare it. He wondered where its mother was.

When Larrikin finally came to the foal, it neighed and let Larrikin touch the top of its head. “Where’s your mom?” It had no response for him, just what Larrikin interpreted to be a sad look. It turned and began walk away, but when Larrikin didn’t follow, it stopped and starred at him.

Noctua flew from Larrikin’s shoulder again and landed on a branch close to the unicorn foal. Larrikin took that as a clear sign that he was meant to follow, although he was lost as to what the animals wanted him to see. The pair led him on a trail only they could see, stopping every so often to make sure he was still behind them. The atmosphere shifted, somehow, as they went. The air felt colder, and the trees began to block the sun. 

“Oh God,” he whispered when Noctua and the foal finally stopped, for they’d brought him to the site of a mass slaughter. 

The victims were all unicorns, as a far as Larrikin could see. Their silver coats and shimmering blue blood made them glow in the dim light of the forest. The bitter stench of death overwhelmed him, and Larrikin dropped to the ground and got sick in the leaves. Noctua flew back to him and perched on his shoulder again, giving a single, mournful hoot.

Unicorns were supposed to be fast, dammit. They were supposed to able outrun beings and other beasts alike. They were meant to be rare and beautiful and purity and innocent. How the hell had something caught up to them? How could anything do this? And what did Noctua and the foal expect him to do about it? He had to tell someone. Headmaster Meritorious. And, more pressingly, he had to get the foal out of here, lest whatever monster that’d murdered the forest’s unicorns come back looking for another kill. 

Larrikin blinked away tears and looked closer at the nearest unicorn. It still had its horn, and as far as Larrikin could tell, there were no patches of hair missing. Its throat had been cut. Larrikin vomited again. Any creature with hands could use a blade, but humans used them the most. A person could’ve done this.

Larrikin clambered to his feet. He stumbled over to the foal, who was nuzzling its head into the flank of one of the dead. “Come on, girl,” he said, even though he had no idea if the unicorn was a girl or not. It didn’t really matter – all that mattered was getting out of there. 

Luckily, the foal came along without any protest. Noctua took to the trees and led the way back, but the foal stayed in step with Larrikin. He wasn’t sure if he was meant to be comforting it, or if it was actually trying to comfort him. He felt numb. As they grew closer to Hogwarts, Larrikin raised his wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm on the foal, lying his hand on its mane so that he wouldn’t lose it. 

“Larrikin!” someone shouted, their voice echoing through the trees. The foal startled, and for a moment Larrikin was afraid it would run, but then it settled. Larrikin petted it, trying to keep it calm. 

“Larrikin!” came another shout, but the foal didn’t react this time. Larrikin recognized it was Anton who was looking for him. He supposed he should’ve guessed that. Anton was the only one that came in after him.

Larrikin opened his mouth to shout, but then thought better of it. To Noctua, he said, “Go find Anton and have him meet me outside of the forest.” 

Noctua hesitated, but apparently decided that Larrikin could find his way. He got lost only once, taking a wrong turn at the log cover in oddly colored mushrooms. Larrikin was fairly certain that Noctua would somehow know about this mistake, and that she wouldn’t leave him the next time he asked her to. It was almost funny, how his mind focus on that. 

Once he stepped out of the forest, Larrikin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. The foal seemed to do the same thing, and Larrikin patted its neck. Anton was standing a hundred meters or so away, Noctua sitting on his shoulder. Rather than looking angry or annoyed, as he usually did when he came to find Larrikin, he looked worried. Was he really gone that long?

“Larrikin, what the hell is that on your clothes?” Anton demanded, crossing the distance between them in what seemed like an instant, nearly knocking into the invisible foal. Larrikin curled his fingers into the foal’s mane to make sure it hadn’t tried to run. Anton seemed too distracted to notice the odd hand gesture. Distracted by Larrikin’s clothes, right. He looked down at them. Silvery blue unicorn blood covered his robes, his blazer, his tie. It had dried a bit, so it wasn’t as obvious on the darker material, but it shown brightly on his tie. 

“Unicorn blood,” he answered. He was surprised at how steady his voice was. “Someone massacred them.”

Anton sucked in a sharp breath. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“I’m going to take you to the Hospital Wing, and then I can get the headmaster.” 

“We’ve got to go to my dorm first.”

Anton didn’t ask why, but it was clearly written on his face that he wouldn’t take Larrikin there without an explanation. Larrikin walked back into the forest a bit, and Anton followed him, his arms crossed over his chest.

Larrikin mumbled a counter-charm, and the foal reappeared before his eyes. He glanced at Anton, who was staring uncomprehendingly at it. “The only survivor?” he eventually asked. 

“Yeah.”

“Can you take care of it?”

“Yeah.”

That was good enough for Anton, it seemed, because he pulled out his own wand and cast the Disillusionment Charm himself. Larrikin put his hand on it again, and Noctua returned to her place on Larrikin’s shoulder. The strange trio followed silently after Anton. As they walked, Larrikin used his free hand to take off his soiled tie and stuff it in his pocket. He hoped no one would notice it on his other clothing, or at least thought it was only a drink that’d he’d spilled on himself. 

When they entered the castle, there was no one in the corridor. Larrikin wasn’t surprised. There was a Quidditch match going on, which was why he’d had time to sneak out in the first place. They walked down toward the kitchen, and Anton waited while Larrikin tapped on the barrels and led the foal down the stairs into Hufflepuff’s common room. 

There were a few people sitting in front of the fire, and a second year girl was tending to the plants. They were talking about something, but stopped when they saw Larrikin. All of the eyes in the room were on him, and he shifted so that they wouldn’t see his hand gripping what seemed to be the air. Were they staring because they saw the blood?

“Is he okay?” asked a girl named Ariel. She was a fifth year, like him. 

“Who?”

The group in front of the fire exchanged glances, and the second year seemed to focus more intently on her work. “No one told you?” asked a boy. He was probably a fourth year, but Larrikin didn’t know him.

“Told me what?” Larrikin was starting to get impatient. He wanted to hide the foal and change his clothes and forget about the day. Maybe Saracen had still had some of that Firewhisky he got his hands on last month. Larrikin could use a shot of that.

“Nothing,” said Ariel quickly, “I’m sure one of your friends can tell you about it.”

Larrikin didn’t press the issue. He’d ask Anton about it. Instead, he went to the boys’ dormitory, came to his room, and shut the door behind him. He cast the counter-charm, and the golden foal appeared in front of him. His roommates wouldn’t say a word; they were all great animal lovers, and besides, they were afraid of what Ghastly might do if they told. Ghastly could be very menacing when he wanted to be.

Larrikin threw off his robes and blazer, shoving them underneath his bed. He grabbed fresh clothes, including a new tie, and dressed quickly. “Noctua,” he said, “watch the foal, please.” She’d moved to her perch that was set up next to Larrikin’s bed when he’d walked in. She cooed in response, and Larrikin mumbled a ‘thanks’ as he left. 

He didn’t stop to talk to the kids in the common room again, but he could feel their eyes on him as he walked out. He found Anton waiting exactly where Larrikin had left him. 

“What happened?” Larrikin asked as they headed for the Hospital Wing.

“What?”

“There were some kids in the common room. They asked me if someone was okay. Said my friends would tell me about it.”

Anton sighed and stopped walking. “It’s Dexter. He – Gallow shoved him off his broom. I don’t know how he is. I came to get you to tell you.”

Larrikin felt like Ghastly had just socked him in the stomach. “He could be dead, Anton.” Again, his voice didn’t waver.

“I know.”

Larrikin took off running for the Hospital Wing. Dexter was hurt. Dexter could be dead. Dead unicorns in the forest. Death everywhere. 

Gryffindor’s head of house, Corrival Deuce, was standing outside of the Hospital Wing, looking haggard. Before Larrikin could catch his breath enough to ask about Dexter, Deuce answered. “His left leg and wrist are broken, as well as a few ribs. No visitors right now.”

“Larrikin needs to see the Madam himself, actually,” Anton said from behind him. He must have run after Larrikin. He didn’t sound nearly as winded, the fit bastard.

Deuce frowned, raised an eyebrow at them. “What’s wrong with him?”

“There was an accident in the Forbidden Forest,” replied Anton.

Deuce didn’t look surprised to hear that Larrikin had been in the forest, just irritated that it was causing problems right now. “Yeah? Alright. But you only, Larrikin. And don’t bother Vex.”

Larrikin slipped by Deuce and immediately ignored his order. The Madam and Headmaster Meritorious were talking on one side of the room, and the rest of the room was clear except for a curtained bed at the front of the room. Larrikin went straight to the bed, which he presumed to be Dexter’s.

“Hey,” Dexter said, “I didn’t think anyone was allowed in here.”

“Anton thinks I’m traumatized.” Dexter’s leg and arm were in casts, with his leg propped up. He didn’t have a shirt on, so Larrikin could see the bandages wrapped around his waist. Bruises blossomed all over his fair skin. And yet, his eyes were bright. He seemed genuinely happy to see Larrikin. He was alive.

“Yeah? Why does he think that?”

Larrikin wave his hand like it was unimportant. Which wasn’t strictly true, but Dexter didn’t need to worry about a mass unicorn murder in the forest. Or about Larrikin having been anywhere near it.

“I heard Gallow shoved you. Isn’t that illegal?”

“Very. On the bright side, we won the game.”

“I’m surprised the team isn’t outside.”

“They were here earlier. Professor Deuce sent them away.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Larrikin said without hesitation. 

Dexter laughed at that, then coughed and laid a hand on the bandage around his ribs. “You’ll have to get in line.”

“He could’ve killed you.” 

“Why, Larrikin, I didn’t know you cared so much.”

“This isn’t funny, Dex!” Larrikin exploded, but he regretted his outburst instantly. 

Dexter’s grin dropped. He had the expression of a kicked puppy, much to Larrikin’s discomfort. “I hoped that you of all people wouldn’t act like that.”

“Like what?” Larrikin demanded.

“Far more grave than is warranted. All I did was break some bones.”

“Look at you! You’re bed-ridden! Will you ever even be able to play Quidditch again?” Larrikin needed to shut up. He knew that, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t handle today. To avoid the hurt that was undoubtedly written on Dexter's face, he stared down at his shoes.

“I don’t know.” Dexter’s voice wobbled, and for a second Larrikin wondered if he was crying. 

Larrikin ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. And… I should’ve been at the game. I’m sorry. I’m a shit friend.”

“Yeah you are,” mumbled Dexter, and Larrikin peered up just in time to see him run the back of his hand over his eyes. “But you’re not wrong. And I know why you weren’t there. I get it. You love the Forbidden Forest.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think I’ll be able to go back there.”

“Why not?” Dexter grabbed Larrikin’s hand from where it was dangling at his side. “What’s happened, Larrikin?”

“Someone murdered a bunch of unicorns. I can’t begin to understand why,” Larrikin said, breaking his earlier decision not to tell Dexter. He felt bad about it, and about everything else he’d said to Dexter in this conversation.

“Isn’t their blood silverish?”

Larrikin jerked his head up, staring at Dexter. “What?”

Dexter was looking down at Larrikin’s hand. “I just thought this stuff on your hand could be unicorn blood. If you were near dead ones, that would make sense.”

Larrikin blinked at the spot Dexter stared at. A dark, crusty blot of silver marred his skin. Blood on his hands. “I didn’t kill them.”

“I didn’t say you did. Larrikin, are you alright?”

“I didn’t do it, Dex,” Larrikin insisted. But did he? There was blood on his hands. He didn’t feel well. Why would he kill unicorns? He didn’t. He found them dead. Right? It seemed like such a long time ago.

“Larrikin, tell me what happened.”

“I think… I think I killed those unicorns.”

“You’re not fast enough to catch a unicorn, Larrikin.” 

His hands were covered in blood. Where did it come from? The unicorns. “I killed them. Why did I kill them?”

Dexter was saying something, Larrikin was sure. He didn’t hear it. He stared at his silver stained hands. He was sure they were clean when he came in. They blurred in front of him. Darkness crept into the corner of his vision, and then it claimed his consciousness.

***  
Awareness returned to Larrikin slowly and painfully. His head pounded and roared, putting his memories were in a jumble. It took him some time to realize he was in the Hospital Wing. Eventually, he found the will to open his eyes. Anton sat next to the bed, the hospital bed – wasn’t Deuce keeping people out earlier? Did that even happen? Saracen and Erskine sat at the end of his bed, whispering quietly to each other. Ghastly and Skulduggery were on the floor. Larrikin could just see the tops of their heads. Belatedly, he realized Hopeless was down there, too, explaining something about Potions to the pair. Were they doing homework? Why weren’t any of them with Dexter? 

“Where’s Dex?” he croaked. He sounded like shit. Great. 

“He went to take a piss,” said Saracen. “How do you feel?”

“Dex can walk?” 

Saracen and Erskine exchanged a concerned glance. The other four stirred, and suddenly all eyes were on him. “Why wouldn’t he be able to walk?” Skulduggery asked.

“Quidditch accident. Well, not really. Gallow shoved him from his broom.”

“Gallow’s a dick, but I doubt he’d do that. What do you remember?” Skulduggery was casual, and Larrikin appreciated that. With all of the eyes on him, he might’ve panicked without Skuduggery’s steady, normal tone.

“There were dead unicorns in the forest. A little foal survived. I brought it back to my dorm. Anton was there, he came to get me and tell me that Dex was hurt. There was blood everywhere.” He was rambling like a madman. “What really happened?”

“You went into the Forbidden Forest,” began Ghastly, “and you did find the dead unicorns. The… foal was dead, too. But you didn’t come back. We spent half the day searching for you.”

“You were passed out in a puddle of blood. The Madam said you probably coughed it up,” Anton interjected, growling out the words. 

“Coughed it up?”

“You were poisoned,” said Hopeless softly. “It was some sort of potion. Or at least, that’s what the Madam thinks. She used a bezoar to save you.”

“Why would someone poison me? And why… it was so vivid… I thought–”

Dexter’s return caused Larrikin to break off. Despite the worry on his face, he looked great. Better than great. None of his limbs were broken. He was standing. What a cruel trick that poison had played on him. He was incredibly relieved it was only a trick.

“Did you win the game?”

Dexter gave a weak smile. “Yeah, we won. Tanith didn’t let the Slytherins make a single goal.”

“Ghastly, if you don’t get out of here to spend time with Tanith right now, I will shun you,” Larrikin declared. He throat burned the more he spoke, but he didn’t want to stop. It was important that he kept on talking, for some reason.

“She understands–”

“ – that her boyfriend left her to sit next to a comatose idiot who wandered into the forest by himself. I’m fine. Get out of here.”

Ghastly’s smile was far more genuine than Dexter’s had been. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Gayyyyy,” Larrikin tried to tease, but the bout of coughing that interrupted it really killed the joke. As soon as they made sure he wasn’t coughing up any more blood, most of the group laughed at his botched joke. Hopeless even tried to smile.

When the half-hearted laughter died down, Larrikin couldn’t keep from asking, “Who would want to kill me, and why?”

None of them said anything for few heartbeats. Then Hopeless offered, “I think it’s because you found the unicorns, and that whatever you saw after the poison was administered was an attempt to confuse you in the event that you survived.”

“But who would kill unicorns? And how the hell could they even catch so many?” Those unanswerable questions came from Erskine. His creepy girlfriend was probably going to be pissed whenever he decided to return to her. 

“Serpine,” Skulduggery suggested immediately. 

“He would’ve given Larrikin something that couldn’t have been treated with a bezoar,” disagreed Anton. 

“Unless he only had a common poison on him.”

“He would’ve taken the horns,” Hopeless said. “As obvious as it would be, such a skilled Potions master wouldn’t just leave so many there. He wouldn’t be able to bare it. And besides, you’ve said it yourself, Skulduggery. He’s greedy for magic.”

Skulduggery sat back with a huff, annoyed that Hopeless had a point.

“Well, it doesn’t take a genius to make a poison, so it really could’ve been everyone. It could’ve been an intentionally messed up brew,” Saracen said, “so perhaps we should focus on who would want to kill a forest full of unicorns.”

“Serpine,” Skulduggery muttered, but this time he was ignored. Larrikin wasn’t exactly dismissing his theory, but some less biased ideas would most likely bring up more probable suspects. 

“Any desperate person. But it doesn’t take much blood to revive a dying person,” Dexter said.

“Someone who wanted everyone to know how powerful they are,” Larrikin said suddenly. “They didn’t care about any of the advantages provided by the dead unicorns. They only showed their ruthlessness by killing the most pure and innocent creature in the Wizarding world.”

“But Larrikin, you’re not dead yet,” Saracen joked, a fiendish grin on his face. 

Dexter snorted. “Oh yeah, Larrikin’s as pure as the driven snow.”

“That sounds like Serpine!” Skulduggery announced, ignoring Saracen and Dexter’s antics.

“I would leave the investigation into Mr. Larrikin’s attack to the Aurors,” the Madam interrupted the conversation. “All of you need rest. You boys get back to your dorms. I’ll watch him for you, don’t you fret.”

Reluctantly, Larrikin’s friends dragged themselves to their feet and dragged said feet on their way out. Once they had disappeared down the hall, the Madam said, “You sleep now. No one’ll be able to get to you tonight.”

The Madam’s reassurances were enough to get Larrikin to sleep. He drifted quickly, more exhausted then he’d realized. But something woke him late in the night. A creek on the floorboards? The rustling of a curtains? Larrikin opened one eye. A figure stood at the end of his bed. From Larrikin’s angle, he couldn’t see their face, but he saw that they had long hair. Like that would help much if he attempted to identify them later, providing they weren’t here to kill him. Then there would be no ‘later’ for him.

“Come to finish the job?”

“No,” a woman’s soft lit replied. Larrikin was shocked she’d responded. 

“What do you want from me, then?”

“I wanted you to die, but there has been a change of plans.”

“So… you’re not going to kill me?” Larrikin kept his eyes on the woman, subtly working his hand toward where he’d left his wand on the nightstand. Hopefully, she hadn’t thought to grab it on her way in. 

“Not today. I hope you’re not looking for this,” said the woman, holding up a sliver in the darkness. His wand. Dammit.

“Why do you want to kill me?”

“I think you know why, mudblood.” For the first time, Larrikin heard a hint of venom behind her words. Before, she’d sounded indifferent.

“Is that what this is about?” Larrikin sat up against his pillow, glaring at the woman although she probably couldn’t see his face. “That’s not even my fault. Maybe you should tell your cousins to keep it in the family, yeah?”

“I’m not here to argue with you, little mudblood,” she said, her demeanor changed. She seemed amused now, like they were playing a game of cat and mouse. It sent a shiver down Larrikin’s spine. “I’m only here to tell you that it would be in your best interest not to think too much about what happened to you today.”

“Well, thank you very much,” Larrikin muttered, bitter sarcasm lacing his tone. “But it doesn’t matter if I do or don’t, right? You’re still going to kill me eventually.”

Larrikin could’ve misheard her, but he thought she gave a little laugh. “But how painful do you want that death to be is what you should consider. Good night, Larrikin, and be careful.”

“Wait,” Larrikin said as she turned to leave. “Why did you kill those unicorns?”

“The important question is not why I did it, but what you’re going to tell everyone when they ask why you did it.”

“You were trying to frame me.”

“Hmm, I think I might've even succeeded.”

“No one will believe that I could do that.”

“Maybe not if you were anyone else. But the people here know you, Larrikin. You’re a beast whisperer. You’ve smuggled them into your dorm for years. You seem to talk to them. In the minds of your peers, you could get a herd of unicorns together easily. As for why, well, maybe someone broke your heart. I hear that’s a popular excuse for murder suicides. It’s tragic that you survived while your equine victims rot beneath the trees.” With that, the woman tossed his wand in his general direction and departed. 

Larrikin didn’t bother scrambling for his wand. There were dark forces afoot, and he didn’t know a spell that could save him from the mess he was in now.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know. Loose ends aplenty. Maybe one day I will wrap them up.


End file.
